Olympians
| GalaxyOfOrigin = Olympus | StarSystemOfOrigin = | HomePlanet = | PlaceOfBirth = | Creators = | First = Venus #1 | HistoryText = The Gods of Olympus are a race of superhumanly powerful humanoid beings who were worshiped by the ancient Greeks and Romans from about 2000 BC to 500 AD. Some accounts depict them as being active as long ago as 20,000 BC, with Atlas being located in Pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis. The Olympians dwell in Olympus, a small "pocket" dimension adjacent to Earth; an interdimensional nexus between Olympus and Earth exists somewhere on Mount Olympus in Greece. The Olympians' human worshipers in ancient Rome called these gods by different names than those by which the gods were known in ancient Greece: for example, the Greeks called the king of the gods Zeus, whereas the Romans called him Jupiter or Jove. The Olympian gods, except for Neptune, patron deity of the Atlanteans, no longer have or actively seek worshipers on Earth. However, certain gods, notably Hercules and Venus, still take active interest in the welfare of humanity. The precise origin of the Olympian gods, like that of all of Earth's pantheons of gods, is shrouded in myth and legend. According to ancient myths, the primeval Earth goddess Gaea is the progenitor of the principal Olympian gods. However, it is unclear whether the Olympian race originated on Earth, Olympus, or in another dimension linked to Olympus. According to the myths, Gaea gave birth first to the sky god Ouranos. Gaea mated with Ouranos and bore him the first generation of the Olympian race, known as the Titans. One of the Titans, Cronus, rose to power when he fatally wounded Ouranos. The dying Ouranos prophesied that Cronus would likewise be overthrown by one of his own children. As a result, upon the birth of each of Cronus's children, Cronus had the infant imprisoned in Tartarus, the most dismal section of the Olympian underworld known as Hades. Appalled at the mistreatment of their children, Cronus's wife, the Titaness Rhea, concealed her sixth pregnancy from him and secretly gave birth to Zeus in the land now called Greece. Zeus grew to adulthood among the human shepherds of Crete. Zeus set his siblings - Neptune, Pluto, Hera, Demeter, and Vesta, now all grown to adulthood - free from Tartarus. Zeus and his allies fought a ten year war with the Titans which ended with Zeus's victory. He imprisoned most of the male Titans in Tartarus and established himself in Olympus as supreme ruler of the Olympian race. Zeus married the goddess Hera, but he engaged in many affairs with goddesses and mortal Earth women. Some of his children were gods. Zeus, Hera, Neptune, Demeter, and Vesta, together with Zeus's children Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Venus, comprised the membership of the high council of the Olympian gods, known as the Pantheon. Vesta later resigned her seat in the council if favor of Zeus's son Dionysus. Zeus's brother Pluto was not a member of the Pantheon, preferring to spend virtually all of his time within Hades, which he ruled. After the end of the Hyborian Age, the Olympian gods sought worshipers on Earth. Neptune became the patron god of the water-breathing Atlanteans, Zeus sought that the Olympian gods be worshiped by the people of the land now known as Greece. Mount Olympus lay near Olympia, the principal city of the Eternals. Zeus and his daughter Athena met with Zuras, the leader of the Eternals, and his daughter Azura. Noticing the physical resemblance between Zeus and Zuras and between Azura and herself, Athena suggested that the Olympian gods and the Eternals form an alliance in which the Eternals would act as the gods' representatives on Earth. The other three enthusiastically agreed, and Azura took her current name of Thena to signify the sealing of the pact. However, over the years, many humans came to think of many Eternals not as the gods' representatives but as the gods themselves. This led to a growing resentment by the gods towards the Eternals, which recently erupted into war, but today they are again at peace. Worship of the Olympian gods spread from Greece to Rome, and throughout the Roman Empire. But when Christianity finally replaced the worship of the Olympian gods in the Roman Empire, Zeus decided that the time had come for the Olympians to break most of their ties with Earth. Neptune, however, was still allowed to watch over his Atlantean worshipers. Nevertheless, Zeus still retains an affection for and interest in the people of Earth. Zeus's children Hercules and Venus have spent periods living among Earth mortals in recent years. Until recent years, the vast majority of the Olympians have had little contact with humans, apart from encounters with various members of the Avengers. This is primarily due to them being allies and friends of Zeus' son, Hercules. The Olympians have maintained close ties with certain other god pantheons over the centuries. This holds especially true for the Asgardian gods, who are the closest allies of the Olympians. Recently, the Olympians have defeated the forces of Mikaboshi, the Japanese God of Evil, in a conflict that has lasted for many years. The lives of many Olympians were lost during the war, with Zeus as, possibly, one of the final casualties. Due to this disaster, the Olympian pantheon was relocated to Earth in a mass diaspora, with Hera now the new head of their earthbound Olympus Group and the Godhead of Olympus, and the rest of the gods scattered across the face of the planet. | Habitat = Earth-like | Gravity = Normal | Atmosphere = Normal | Population = 125 (estimated) | Powers = The Olympian gods all possess certain superhuman physical attributes: Superhuman Strength: All Olympians are superhumanly strong with the average male being able to lift about 30 tons and the average female being able to lift about 25 tons. Superhuman Speed: All Olympians have the potential of being able to run and move at speeds much greater than the finest human athlete. Superhuman Stamina: The musculature of all Olympians produces considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the muscles of human beings. The average Olympian male and female can exert themselves at peak capacity for about 24 hours before fatigue impairs them. Superhumanly Dense Tissue: The skin, muscle, and bone tissues of all Olympians are about 3 times as dense as the same tissue of a human body. This contributes, somewhat, to their superhuman strength and weight. Superhuman Durability: The bodies of all Olympians are considerably more resistant to physical injury than the bodies of humans. Olympians are capable of withstanding great impact forces, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, falls from great heights, etc. without sustaining physical injury. Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite their natural durability, it is possible for any of the Olympians to sustain injury. However, if injured, their highly advanced metabolism enables them to recover with superhuman levels of speed and efficiency. As with most of their other powers, the speed and extent of these powers varies from one Olympian to another. Most Olympians, for instance, are not able to regenerate missing limbs or organs while a small minority can. Immortality: All Olympians are functionally immortal. They are immune to the effects of aging and haven't aged since reaching adulthood. Their bodies are also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infection. Energy Manipulation: All Olympians have some potential to manipulate magical or cosmic energies for some purposes. These powers are mostly limited to changing their appearance or shape, and teleporting across great distances. However, a small minority of the Olympians is capable of manipulating vast amounts of energy for a variety of purposes including teleportation, shapeshifting, matter manipulation, augmentation of their physical capabilities, erecting powerful force fields, firing powerful blasts of energy for destructive purposes, granting superhuman powers to objects and beings, etc. | Abilities = The Olympian gods are immortal and cease to age upon reaching adulthood. They are three times denser than normal human beings. All Olympians possess specific skills associated with their area of expertise. For example, as Olympian God of War, Ares is a formidable combatant with extensive knowledge of both armed and unarmed combat where as Venus, Olympian Goddess of Love, is highly skilled in all forms of physical and sexual pleasure. Most Olympians have had some degree of armed and unarmed combat training. | AvgStrength = | Weaknesses = | GovernmentType = Monarchy | TechnologyLevel = Magic | CulturalTraits = The Olympians were worshipped as gods by the people of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, which once included much of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Balkans, British isles and parts of Gaul. | Representatives = Hebe, Cupid , Apollo, Artemis,Ares (Earth-616) Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Discord, Gaea, Hera, Hercules, Neptune, Persephone, Pluto, Aphrodite, Vesta, Zeus, Bia, Kratos, et al. | Notes = * The Olympians of the Marvel Universe, even though called by their Roman names, are based on the Gods of Greek Mythology. The Romans imported the worship of these Greek Gods around 500 BC - before that, the Romans adhered to more vague deities, to which they referred as Numina, or "the Powers". According to mythologian Edith Hamilton, the Romans could never have created gods each with a distinct personality as the Greeks. | Trivia = Olympian Hair does not change since the day an Olympian has reached Adulthood, also if an Olympians Hair is cut or damaged it will be healed due to the olympians healing factor. | Links = * Olympian Gods at the Guide to the Mythological Universe }} Category:Deities Category:Pantheons Category:Gods